Contents

Plot

Warning: The following page/section contains spoilers. Please read at your own risk.

The game begins with Mario and Princess Peach taking a walk outside the castle. Suddenly, while Peach's Castle is in view from them, a cloud goes over the castle, and lightning starts to strike it {possibly Lakithunder}. All the Toads start to scream and jump out of the castle, and Mario goes over to help, expecting that Peach would be okay.

While Mario runs over to the castle, Bowser Jr. sneaks up behind her, and kidnaps Peach. Mario looks back, realizes this, and starts to run toward him. Bowser Jr. will then throw a Koopa Shell at Mario making him Small Mario and hide inside the nearest Tower with Peach.

Mario now goes throughout the grassy land toward the Tower. Once he gets there, Bowser Jr. will decide to fight Mario. Once Mario wins, Bowser Jr. escapes, takes Peach, and runs off, Mario will now have to go through many obstacles to get her back.

While trying to find her, Mario will encounter a castle, and finds out that inside waiting is Bowser. Mario will get past him, and jump on the switch to break the bridge that Bowser is on {like in the original Super Mario Bros.}, whom will fall in the lava and turn into a skeleton, turning him into Dry Bowser.

Mario will have to now go through the Mushroom Kingdom tracking down Bowser Jr., going through deserts, oceans, jungles, ice lands, mountains, and even the sky. Once he gets to the last land, the Lava world, he will encounter Dry Bowser.

You will have to get past all the bones that he throws, and the monster himself, to hit the switch to once again make him fall through a deep bottom pit. However, he can still spit fire. He is somewhat slower than Bowser.

Now, Mario goes out to find Bowser Jr again, and comes up to a huge castle, which he enters in hope of finding Peach. Once he gets to the end, he finds Bowser Jr., whom will throw the Bones Bowser into a pot with potion that revives Bowser.

Now, the two will fight you, where you'll have to get past both of them to hit the switch, which will drop the bridge. Now Peach will come down off her platform, and kiss Mario on the cheek, which ends the story.

Spoilers end here

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to both the traditional sidescrollers and the 3D games, but more to the former than the latter. As in every Mario platformer, you're capable of jumping and running faster to get past certain parts quicker than normal and to leap farther. One mechanism that was present in the original Super Mario Bros. returns - being able to duck and slide at the same time to get under blocking walls with a small opening at the bottom. You're also allowed to, for the first time in a sidescrolling Mario game, perform a double and triple jump, a backflip, and a wall jump - four moves that could all be executed in the 3D Mario games.

The actual graphics have evolved greatly from Super Mario World, which was, as all of the other sidescrollers before it, primarily a 2D world. However, this game features polygons rather than handmade sprites, making it seem similar to the 3D Mario platformers found on the current home consoles, though the entire world is entirely 3D. This is similar to Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi's Story, though unarguably features improved graphics.

Most enemies can be killed by simply jumping on them, though some require more. For example, one enemy may have spikes on top of its head, implying that you're not allowed to jump upon it. With this said, you can find a Fire Flower within a '?' block or a Mega Mushroom and then pummel it with fire balls or just run into it, respectively. You can also use a Invincibility Star against it.

If the player collects a Super Mushroom, then Mario (or Luigi) will slightly grow and will be given a bit more health. For example, without a mushroom he'll die automatically if touched by an enemy or obstacle, though if he touches a Super Mushroom he'll be allowed two hits.

The eighty distinct levels are featured in eight different worlds, each with its own theme (see below). Different obstacles and enemies are featured in each level, with the difficulty level rising more and more as you progress through each world. Each world contains a boss at the end and mini bosses throughout it, the latter of which usually happening to be Bowser Jr. of Super Mario Sunshine fame. Unlike Super Mario Bros., the main bosses differ greatly. For example, in one world you must fight Petey Piranha while in another you'll face off against Bowser.

The overworld map is similar to that of Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World. You can travel back to levels you've already been to to accumulate a better score or find the multiple different Star Coins, or you can continue on to the next level. Secret levels can be found by entering a different exit, such as cannons to other worlds.

Characters

The first level in the game.

Playable

Mario - Mario is the main character in the game. He will be able to do many of the abilities he can from both the past 2D and 3D Mario games such as the triple jump and ground pound. He will also learn how to use many new items such as the Mega Mushroom and Mini Mushroom.

Luigi - Luigi will be playable once you type in a certain password (this password is (L+R+A when selecting a file) that you'll learn after you beat the game. In the game, he can do everything that Mario can, except his voice (nevertheless his voice is still performed by the same voice-actor). You can play as him before beating the game by pressing L+A. He also jumps higher than other playable characters.

Yoshi - Though Yoshi never appears in the main game itself, he appears as a playable character in multiple minigames. In the minigames, you will use Yoshi to throw snow balls, fly with balloons, and more.

Wario - Wario appears on minigames, not the main game, in multiplayer. He also appears in one game, where you have to guess where he has throw the money in the blocks.

Non-Playable

Princess Peach - In the game, Princess Peach and Mario are going on a walk when suddenly, Peach's Castle gets attacked. Mario goes off to Peach's Castle to stop it when Bowser Jr. suddenly kidnaps her.

Bowser - Bowser is the first main boss, as well as the last. In the game, he sends out Bowser Jr. to kidnap Peach, and since he knows that Mario will go after her, he sends out his army to stop him.

Bowser Jr. - At the beginning, Bowser Jr. kidnaps Peach, and takes her to the closest tower. There, Mario will battle him to get back Peach, once Mario wins, Bowser Jr. goes to another tower. This will happen multiple times until Bowser and Bowser Jr. team up for the final Boss fight.

Toadsworth - You will find Toadsworth at every single Toad House where he will uses his magic cane to give you multiple different items depending on which color of Toad House you entered.

Dorrie - You'll find Dorrie the sea dinosaur in the jungle, where she will allow you to cross over the poisonous water. She will not stop swimming unless a wall is directly in front of you. If you ground pound the dinosaur, she will duck, and start to swim much faster.

Bosses

Bowser - Bowser is the main enemy boss in the game. You will first encounter him as the final boss in World 1, plus the final boss of the game. He can jump very high, and can spit fireballs. He will try to scratch you if you go behind him. You have to press the switch behind Bowser to defeat him.

Bowser Jr. - Bowser Jr. will be the mini boss of each world, and will join up with Bowser as the final boss. Starting at the third world, he will begin to jump over you. However, he is fairly easy to defeat if you are in Fire Mario. In the towers World 4, World 6-T2, and 7-8, he will hide in his shell when you try to jump on him. Instead, use Koopa Shells whichhe throws (or fireballs).

Mummipokey - A big Pokey in World 2 will pop out of the sand to either spit out thorns at you, or just try to come up under you. However, you can ground pound her, even though she is a Pokey.

Cheepskipper - A huge, fat cheep-cheep in the World 3 will pop out of the water to try to kill you. He will also send smaller Cheep-Cheeps at you as well. He will usually bounce on the land before diving back into the water. When he bounces on the land, jump on him three times to defeat him.

Mega Goomba - As the name suggests, he is a big Goomba in World 4 whom will try to smash you. Stomping on him won't do any good, and to defeat him, you'll have to hit a switch that raises a platform to ground pound him.

Petey Piranha - A walking Piranha Plant in World 5 will try to fly above you, smash you. He will be asleep at first, until he wakes up. When he misses when trying to smash you, he will get dizzy, and that's your chance to attack.

Monty Tank - A regular Monty Mole in World 6 has a big tank that shoots out Bullet Bills, and throws Bob-ombs. You have to jump on his Bullet Bills to get on his tank and stomp or ground pound him.

Lakithunder - A Lakitu in World 7 will climb on his cloud and either try to shoot electricity at you, or just ram you. When he attempts to ram you, that's your chance to ground pound or stomp or shoot fireballs at him.

Dry Bowser - Bowser, in skeletal form after falling in lava as one of the bosses in World 8 will throw bones quickly at you, but can still spit fireballs. He is as more faster than the original Bowser.

Items

Mushroom - While Mario, you can gain this item to become Super Mario. This item 'doubles' Mario's height. This item allows you to break through brick blocks by jumping underneath or ground pounding them. and allows you to get hit twice before you die.

Fire Flower - While you are Fire Mario, you can do anything Super Mario can do, but also be able to shoot fireballs out of your hand. Fireballs are handy for taking out most enemies, although some enemies are invincible to fireballs. Fire Mario can also get attacked three times before he dies. His outfit changes too. All bosses except Dry Bowser can be defeated with fireballs, although it requires more fireballs, so be patient.

Star - When Mario or Luigi collects a Star, he goes temporarily invincible and runs quite fast. When Mario is in this form he can run straight through enemies and defeat them. Although it makes Mario invincible, he can still get defeated by falling in lava, acid, a bottomless pit or getting crushed. It is similar to the Rainbow Star in Super Mario Galaxy.

Mega Mushroom - When you collect a rare Mega Mushroom, Mario becomes Mega Mario. Mega Mario can smash through almost all obstacles. Mega Mario can defeat most bosses running into them. He cannot be hurt by any kind of enemy. If he touches lava, acid or gets crushed, he will shrink and will fall into the acid or lava, or just get crushed.

Mini Mushroom - When Mario or Luigi collects a Mini Mushroom, Mario becomes Mini Mario. Mini Mario can jump extra high, can fit through small pipes and openings, and can also run above water. However, he can die just by touching an enemy, and can only defeat regular enemies by ground pounding them. If he just stomps on them, you will just float up.

Blue Shell - When Mario collects a Blue Shell, he becomes Shell Mario, allowing him to slide around just like a kicked Koopa shell does. Shell Mario can also duck and take cover so no enemy can hurt him. He can break many bricks, but if you can't control it, you might just bump into something and fall into a pit.

1-Up Mushroom - You'll find these green mushrooms in multiple levels and Toad Houses. Once you collect one, you'll gain a life. Most of these are found in hidden blocks through the level. They are featured in a minigame involving a Toad House. If the bros. is in danger or if he risked his life, you can see green mushroom.

Multiplayer

This game also has a wireless multiplayer mode (up to two players) using DS Download Play where you can battle it out to get the most stars. To get a Power-up, you can either get it the traditional way, by jumping up on a "?" box, or you can collect 8 coins. To hurt your opponent, you can either jump on them, shoot them with a fireball, or do anything else that would normally damage an enemy in New Super Mario Bros.. To win, you must obtain the amount of stars that was set before the game, by default 5.

Luigi

Warning: The following page/section contains spoilers. Please read at your own risk.

To play as Luigi, go to the file select screen, then press and hold down L + R at the same time, then select a file, you will now play as Luigi. Luigi is the exact same as Mario in terms of abilities, though the color of his clothes, and his size, plus other features are much different. Also, his voice has changed as well. In multiplayer mode, he will be playable as the second player.

Spoilers end here

Minigames

Action

Snowball Slalom - A game where you roll a snowball to try to past the finish. Once you do, you can try again to beat your previous time. In multiplayer, the course is longer, and if time runs out, whoever is closer to the finish wins.

Lakitu Launch - You must use the touch screen to fling Spinies into two giant shells that Lakitus are holding within the set time. In multiplayer, this game is called Vs. Lakitu Launch, and if you hit the wrong shell, that person will score.

Danger, Bob-omb! Danger! - using the Touch Screen, you guide a Bob-omb on a square platform with fireballs going all over, along with fire from the Bowser statue. If one of the obstacles hits your Bob-omb, then you lose. In multiplayer, this game's called Run, Bob-omb Run! Everybody has three lives, and the last person to lose them all wins.

Whack-A-Monty - There are multiple holes in the ground with either Monty Moles or Luigi inside. If you hit a Monty Mole, you'll gain more and points. If you hit Luigi, you'll lose points. In multiplayer, points can go below zero.

Balloon Racing - You will control Yoshi, and will blow into the mic to raise Yoshi past the Shy Guys to the platform above. If you accomplish this, you can try again to beat your past time. In multiplayer, if the timer reaches zero, whoever is highest wins. If everyone loses both of their balloons, it's a tie.

Snowball Slam - A multiplayer game that features Yoshi as the playable character. You will be able to throw snowballs at either the enemy Yoshi, or at the snowmen on the opposite side which gives you more ammo, or snowballs. Here, two people share points. Get more snowballs by touching a snowman.

Puzzle

Wanted - Multiple photos of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario will appear on the bottom screen. On the top screen, it will show a picture of the character that's wanted, and within the time you must find the photo of the character on the bottom screen. In multiplayer instead of winning five seconds and losing ten, you gain and lose a point. Whoever has more at the end wins.

Which Wiggler - A Wiggler appears on the top screen with a particular design, now you must find another Wiggler with the same design on the bottom screen. In multiplayer, you get a point for matching and lose on for mismatching. No time is added or subtracted, and whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.

Hide And Boo Seek - The player must use the stylus inside a haunted mansion to uncover Boos in the dark. In multiplayer, you get a point for each Boo. After time runs out, whoever has found the most Boos wins.

Puzzle Panel - The player must use the stylus to turn blocks to make it resemble the design on the top screen. In multiplayer this game is timed for a minute. You gain a point for a correct answer and lose one for a wrong one. After a minute, whoever has more points wins.

Loves Me...? - Another multiplayer game. Touch a petal to drop it. You can pull one to three petals. Points can go below zero. After three, five, or seven rounds, whoever has more points wins.

Coincentration - Wario will hit a block, and many coins will come out of it and fall into blocks below. You must touch the blocks which have coins in them, if you touch one without any, then you loose. In multiplayer, you just lose two coins. You can pass, but only once.

Table

Speed - Just like the regular game of Speed, you must put a card one higher or one lower. Whoever clears their cards first wins.

Memory Match - A player must pick two cards out of a certain amount of turned cards to try to find a match. In multiplayer, you get two points for a match and you go again. If it's wrong, the next person makes a match. Once the table is cleared, whoever has more points wins.

Picture Poker - You must play Poker against Luigi using many different items from the Mario universe. To win you must beat Luigi. In versus mode, anyone who doesn't have the best hand loses the respective amount to the winner. After the previously chosen rounds, whoever has more coins wins.

Pair-A-Gone - You must match two cards that are next to each other on a table with many cards. When you delete a pair, they will disappear, and other cards will take there place.

Luigi's Thrilling Cards - Kind of like Liar's Poker, you know what everyone else has, but not yourself. You can bet more if you like. Once everyone who hasn't folded bets the same, whoever has the most coins wins.

Luigi-Jack - You're probably familiar with this game. If you've played 21, you know how to play. You want to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. If you do, you lose five coins to the winner.

Bob-omb Reverse - You can play this on your computer. You can capture your oppontant(s) bombs. You want to have as many as possible.

Variety

Mario's Slides - Three Piranha Plants and a star is on the bottom screen. On the top, a face of Mario is there, and will drop, you must guide Mario across many different routes to guide him to the star.

Sort or 'Splode - There are two sections, a red one, and a black one. You must guide the color of the Bob-omb that comes out to the the matching section. If you guide one to the wrong area, all Bob-ombs will explode and the game will end.

Bob-omb Squad - The player must use a giant sling-shot to shoot cannons at over head Bob-ombs and Lakitus. If four Bob-ombs hit the ground, then you loose.

Trampoline Time - The player must draw trampolines with M's on them using the stylus for Mario to jump on and land on a safe platform above.

1-on-1

Vs. Mario's Slides - Draw a line to guide Mario into the star and out of the pirahna plants. If he lands in one, you lose.

Bob-omb Sudden Death - As in Sort or 'Splode, drag red bombs to red carpet and black bombs to black carpet after you get five or ten of the same color, they go on the other screen. If a bomb explodes, you lose.

Jumping Brothers - Tap your character to make him jump. If you land on a Fly Guy, you get one point. If you fall off, you lose five. If someone jumps on the other person, that person gets two of his points.

Lakitu Launch - This is the closed game to Bob-omb Squad. Drag the sling shot to hit the Lakitus. Hit Lakitus holding stars to get 1100 points. However, if it's on the upper screen, your oppontent gets 1000.

Jumping Sudden Death - Tap your opponent to trip him up. Hit the spikes three times, and you lose.

Vs. Trampoline Time - Draw trampolines to keep Mario from falling down to the pit. If this happens three times, you lose. Conversely, if you can launch Mario up to the top three times, you win.

Bob-omb Trampoline - Drag the trampoline to catch the bomb. Miss five times and you lose.

Vs. Pair-a-Gone - Make matches to send the cards into your opponent's deck. After one minute your cards go into your deck and whoever has less wins.

Ending Letter Sounds

During the credits, you will be able to press the letters in the words. Each letter will make a different sound. The following is the sound that each letter makes.

The battle with Dry Bowser in world 8 is based on the battle with Bowser in the original Super Mario Bros., with a switch destroying the floor that Dry Bowser is standing on, thus killing him. The original, however, had a axe instead of a switch.

Occasionally, a secret level ending occurs with the classic sounds from the original Super Mario Bros. level ending, complete with fireworks.

Reception

Critics

Websites-

Gamespot: 9.0/10 - New Super Mario Bros. is a terrific 2D sidescroller that makes you think of the old games but never feels like it's just cashing in on past success."

IGN: 9.5/10 - This game marks a brilliant return to Mario's side-scrolling environments, with a look, feel, and play that feels unbelievably classic, with new elements that do a fantastic job advancing the design.

1up: 8.8/10 - Nintendo's crafted a thoroughly enjoyable game here, a solid portable experience packed with everything that makes Mario so great

Magazines-

Nintendo Power: 9.5/10, 9.5/10, 9.5/10, 9.5/10, 9.5/10

Electronic Gaming Monthly: 10/10, 9.5/10, 8.0/10

Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave the game a gold rating, and the "Game Of the Month" award as well.

Legacy

A sequel to New Super Mario Bros., named New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released to the Wii in November 2009. It features multiplayer using Luigi and two unnamed Toads. Players will control their characters using the Wii Remote like an NES controller. Also new to the game is Yoshi and the return of the Koopalings from Super Mario Bros. 3. Later on, more iterations were made like New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS and New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U.

Merchandise

A special DS starter kit was created resembling a tin lunchbox with the New Super Mario Bros. logo painted on the front.

Sales

It sold exceptionally well and has become one of the most popular DS games of all time, selling over 30 million copies. New Super Mario Bros. is the successor to the original 2D Mario games.

Trivia

Out of the games of these series, only New Super Mario Bros. has featured mini-games (as most of them are from Super Mario 64 DS).

This is the only New Super Mario Bros. game to not feature the Koopalings as bosses, making Bowser the only boss to be featured in every New Super Mario Bros. game.

New Super Mario Bros. is the last game in the Mario series in which the sound effect of a Warp Pipe is also the damage sound effect for Mario/Luigi. Later Mario platformers use the Super Mario World variant of the pipe sound to indicate damage, while still keeping the original Super Mario Bros. sound effect for pipes.

Likewise, the Coin sound in this game is very similar to the Coin sound from the 8-bit Mario games, whereas in later games in the series, the sound effect sounds closer to that of Super Mario World.

In previous Mario games (particularly 8-bit and 16-bit Mario games), when the player picks up a 100th Coin for a 1-Up, the 1-Up Mushroom sound cancels the Coin sound. Instead, in this game, the Coin and 1-Up Mushroom sound play together whenever obtaining a 100th coin. This feature is also present in future New Super Mario Bros. games.

In addition, the "bump" noise when hitting a block/wall, or a shell bouncing off is also the same as the 8-bit Mario games. In later installments, the "bump" noise is given a new one.